Upon invitation by City Arts Festival and Open Satellite I created Sleeper Cell Training Camp an over-night, Special-Ops Program with training in tactical dreaming, open-source nomadic structures, and ironic squatting. Participants videotaped their recollected dreams while break-out groups crafted dream pillows stuffed with dream-inducing herbs, created a Sleeper Cell Training Camp theme song, whipped up mid-night snacks rich in ingredients that promote dreaming (magnesium, zinc, calcium, Tryptophan, and vitamin C), watched and discussed a selection of videos I created for the event describing the Limbic system, Mirror Neurons, and the Default Network, and received a Sound Bath courtesy of sound artist Aaron Ximm (best known for his performance and installations as Quiet American).

Training Camp is the first iteration in a multi-part project that develops routes to deep change through collective dreaming (think of it as making art in your sleep, if you will). This work was developed out of The Long Walk, a project I created in summer 2010 where I led 40 participants on a three-day trek out of the city and into the forest—from Seattle to Snoqualmie Falls. While walking seemed to be the goal, I became aware of an untapped resource alive in the safe communal space of the “sleepover.” The vulnerable and intimate moments shared around bedtime were a twilight that unexpectedly provided an ideal forum for research, co-creation, and uninhibited insights. Training Camp and Sleeper Cells will construct temporary safe havens for disassociated fellow dreamers to gather briefly and advance their cause.

The funds generated through Training Camp will help fund the creation of the “cells” used in Sleeper Cells which will be donated to Tent City 3 to provide temporary housing to Seattle’s homeless community.